A Night In Norway
by StormWolf10
Summary: "Not everyone can talk their way out of a situation with a well-worded ramble. Not everyone has a sonic screwdriver to cause a distraction…Some of us have to learn how to defend ourselves, how to fight our way out." In which meta!Ten and Rose have a somewhat heated discussion on a cold Norwegian beach...


**A/N: Rambling, fluffy goodness! Post Journey's End, dash of angst, and I think meta!10's Donna DNA is coming out a bit in this story…. XD**

The bitter cold of the Norwegian weather seemed to match the bitter cold of their attitudes perfectly, Rose thought wryly. She was sat on a rock, staring out at the sea; the Doctor sat a little way away from her. They weren't speaking, hadn't spoken for quite a while now. Jackie was most likely fast asleep at the small B&B five minutes' walk from where they were currently sat on the coast. The Doctor and Rose had rooms there too, of course, but they'd sneaked out after they were certain Jackie had gone to sleep. They were only spending the night in Norway because the earliest Pete could get a zeppelin to them was the next morning. The Doctor and Rose had only sneaked out because the Doctor was insistent that they talked, and apparently a cold Norwegian beach was the best place for it. However, on their way down, they had begun to talk. That had led to an argument, and by the time they were on the beach, they were both refusing to speak to one another.

"You're being such a child, you know that?" Rose piped up suddenly, loud enough for the Doctor to hear.

The Doctor's head snapped up, and he glared at her.

"Oh, _I'm_ the child?" he asked angrily "You were the one who very almost threw a tantrum when he buggered off in the TARDIS!"

There was no question over _he_ was; the Time Lord Doctor. Rose immediately felt herself growing angrier.

"Oh, that's rich!" Rose laughed bitterly, cheeks red from the harsh wind as she huddled in her thin leather jacket "You're the one who threw a fit on the way down here! If you hadn't have dragged me out of bed, I could be sleeping right now, but _no_. No, you just _had_ to come and sit on a freezing cold beach just so you could ignore me!"

"I did not throw a fit, Rose Tyler! I have every right to be angry!" the Doctor told her, striding over to her with a face like thunder.

"You don't though, do you?" Rose retorted quickly, three years of pent-up emotions suddenly bubbling to the surface as she got to her feet "You weren't here, you don't get to be angry over things you don't even understand! You never even asked me _why_!"

"You had a gun, Rose. I think the _why_ is pretty obvious." The Doctor replied darkly.

"Oh yeah? And what do _you_ think the reason is?" Rose asked.

They were now toe to toe, both glaring at one another and neither of them unlikely to back down. The Doctor glared defiantly at her for a minute or so before scoffing and walking away towards the shore.

"You always were reckless, weren't you?" he asked heatedly, "Always after what _little Rose Tyler_ wanted, never mind the rest of the Universe!"

"Excuse me?" Rose demanded, more shocked, hurt and confused than angry as she skidded down behind him.

The Doctor spun round to glare at her.

"The Reapers?" he hinted furiously "Never mind I'd given you strict instructions to only go to your father _after_ he was dead. Because of course, like the stupid ape you are, you decided that your wants were far more important than the whole of reality!"

"Now hold on a minute!" Rose protested, quickly becoming angry again "_That_ was your fault!"

"My fault?" the Doctor echoed incredulously.

"Yes, your fault!" Rose retorted quickly "You can't just take a nineteen year old to watch her father die and expect her to just stand there and watch!"

The Doctor stared at her for a minute or so before replying.

"You were still reckless. And you looked more than a little comfortable with that gun, if you ask me." He sniffed.

"Well, no one's asking you." Rose replied, folding her arms "Besides, not everyone can talk their way out of a situation with a well-worded _ramble_. Not everyone has a _sonic screwdriver_ to cause a distraction…Some of us have to learn how to _defend_ ourselves, how to fight our way out."

As Rose glared at him, she swore his glare softened slightly at her words, and he looked away, squinting up the dark beach.

"That doesn't make it right." He replied after a while, voice suddenly quiet "You know I hate guns."

"I'm not saying it's right, Doctor." Rose pointed out softly "I'm just sayin', you have to understand that I had my reasons." She sighed, and the Doctor met her gaze "The Dimension Cannon wasn't perfect, it took a lot of time and testing just to get me to the right Universe. And, at first, I insisted on going unarmed. After several jumps landing in the middle of war zones or hostile planets, Torchwood insisted I took a gun. It was kill or be killed, Doctor, an' I knew I had to reach you, to tell you about the stars going out. Thankfully I never used the gun on anything other than Daleks, but I still didn't really like having it, all I could think of was how disappointed you'd be with me when you found out."

Rose stared off across the beach, noting absently that the sun was just beginning to bleed over the horizon.

"I'm sorry, Rose," the Doctor piped up suddenly, quietly "It's just I… Davros was right. I hate weapons, and I hate violence, and yet I turn all of my companions into violent beings, ready to kill or defend for me. It's not the way it's supposed to be."

The Doctor looked at Rose, wishing she would say something, wishing she would look at him, anything. Finally, she looked at him again.

"We should get back. Mum will be awake soon and be wonderin' where we are." She told him.

The Doctor nodded, trying to avoid the sinking feeling in his stomach. They began making their way back up to the coastal path leading to the B&B.

"I meant what I said earlier, Rose." The Doctor announced suddenly, risking a glance over at her "If you let me, I'll spend the rest of my life with you."

Rose glanced over at him, smiling softly and a little nervously, and the Doctor suddenly found himself panicking. She had kissed him on the beach, hours and hours ago, but since then they'd argued, and he'd made a right pigs' ear of things…What if she didn't want him anymore?

"I think," Rose told him, slipping her hand into his "we should see how things go."

The Doctor nodded, willing away the sinking feeling in his stomach again.

"Besides," Rose continued suddenly, startling him into looking at her again "we'll always be alright, you and me."


End file.
